Become A Real Estate Appraiser

Please note that the criteria (outlined below) is the minimum amount recommended by the AQB and that individual states may have additional requirements.  Please be sure to check with your state’s regulatory agency for information regarding their specific criteria.

Become an Appraiser
So, you want to be an appraiser? Great! (Now what do you do?) Stepping into the appraisal industry, as I am sure most trainees will attest to, is not the easiest task. Nevertheless, one could argue, that becoming a doctor, a lawyer, a teacher, a police officer, etc. is a daunting task as well. Nearly every profession has educational requirements; some have physical requirements, and most have “training” requirements. Below you will find all the information you need to know to start on the path toward a new and rewarding career.

What is an appraiser?
According to The Appraisal Foundation, an appraiser is one who develops and reports an opinion of value on a specific type of property. Appraisers may opt to specialize in various disciplines such as:

• Real Property appraisal, which is the valuation of real estate. Real Property appraisers can choose specialties to practice within such as residential, commercial and agricultural.
• Personal Property appraisal, which encompasses all types of personal property such as fine and decorative arts, antiques, gems and jewelry and machinery and equipment.
• Business Valuation which is the valuing of businesses including all tangible and intangible assets ranging from the value of the equipment to the value of the business name or logo.
• Mass Appraisal which encompasses techniques that are used when valuing multiple types of real property or personal property using general recognized formulas.

Why are appraisers regulated?
In response to the failure of a large number of savings and loan institutions in the 1980s, Congress conducted several hearings to determine the root cause of the crisis and took steps to ensure that a similar crisis would not occur in the future.

During the course of their investigation, Congress was surprised to learn that appraisers, the individuals determining the value of the underlying collateral of loans, were generally unregulated. While professional licensure issues generally fall into the domain of state governments, Congress was concerned about protecting the future integrity of deposit insurance funds.

Accordingly, when passing legislation in 1989 to address the financial institution crisis (known as the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act or FIRREA), Congress included a provision known as Title XI mandating the regulation of real estate appraisers by the states. The regulatory program contained three components:

• each state government is to establish an appraiser regulatory body to issue licenses and certificates and to address enforcement or disciplinary issues;
• private-sector expertise regarding appraisal standards and appraiser qualifications is provided by The Appraisal Foundation; and,
• a small federal government agency (the Appraisal Subcommittee) was created to oversee the program to ensure it remained consistent with the original intent of Congress.

How do I become an appraiser?
The process of becoming an appraiser differs according to the various appraisal disciplines. Most appraisers are required to have a certain number of hours of education and experience. In addition, if an appraiser wishes to become state licensed or certified in real property or if an appraiser wishes to become “designated” by an appraisal organization, they must also pass a comprehensive examination.

Prior to January 1, 2008, the experience requirement for the Licensed Residential Real Property Appraiser Classification is 2,000 hours. Effective January 1, 2008, the experience requirement for that classification will be 2,000 hours in no less than 12 months.

The most significant changes in the new Criteria relate to qualifying education. The changes fall into the following categories:

• There are college-level course requirements for the Certified Residential and Certified General classifications;
• The required number of classroom hours in appraisal education has increased significantly in all three licensure classifications; and
• There are minimum classroom hours of coverage requirements for specific topic areas, which are known as modules.

In addition to the college-level course requirements, the appraisal education classroom hour requirement has increased for the State Licensed, State Certified Residential and State Certified General classifications. The Trainee classification remains unchanged at 75 classroom hours. The number of appraisal education classroom hours to become a State Licensed appraiser has increased from 90 hours to 150 hours; Certified Residential has increased from 120 hours to 200 hours; and, Certified General classification has increased from 180 hours to 300 hours.

There is now a Required Core Curriculum for each appraiser classification.

How to I obtain trainee experience?
Trainee experience can be gained by aligning yourself with a professional, established appraiser as an apprentice or as a trainee. Many appraisers work as an apprentice while completing the required education. For real property appraisers, many states have formal trainee programs.

All individuals seeking to become a State Licensed, State Certified Residential or State Certified General appraiser must successfully pass an examination administered by the jurisdiction awarding the credential.

We have partnered with the premiere Appraisal School in the country. We can take care of your educational needs and help you become an appraiser.